WPP PR, PA revenue up 1.9% in first quarter

DUBLIN, IRELAND: WPP Group's PR and public affairs revenue grew 1.9% on a like-for-like basis in the first quarter of 2012, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations or acquisitions compared with the previous year, to approximately $297.6 million.

The holding company said in an earnings report Friday morning that Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe showed the strongest growth of its PR and PA agencies in Q1.

Overall, WPP's Q1 revenue was up 4% on a like-for-like basis compared with the previous year to about $3.2 billion, beating analysts' expectations. In North America, revenue grew 1.4% on a like-for-like basis compared with Q1 2011, to $1.1 billion. Gross margin was up 4% in the quarter at the world's largest marketing services holding company.